Some not so nice “Things” happen to us as we get older. Among those things are:
- Our muscles atrophy (Sarcopenia), along with the perception of increased effort to do simple tasks.
- Our bones get brittle and break easily through loss of bone mass.They can degenerate into Osteoporosis.
- Our skin gets wrinkly and thin.
- Our joints get rusty and creaky. Arthritis sets in and can be painful.
- Our digestive system acts up and we have stomach or intestinal challenges.
- We have problems with our balance leading to falls.
- Our lungs tend to lose capacity resulting in shallow breathing and less oxygen intake.
- Our posture deteriorates. We hunch over.
- Our voice becomes weak.
- We experience hearing loss.
- . . . and much more.
You might ask, “How fast does that happen?” “When does it start?” “Can it be stopped?” “Can it be reversed?” “Can I get my youth back?”
The answer is “yes”, “no”, “sometimes” and “maybe” — not necessarily in that order. It depends upon what you are doing now to prevent physical deterioration, and what you do in the future to get back and maintain your health and fitness, You can offset many of the effects of aging. You are your own Fountain of Youth.
During the next several weeks I will address those questions in a series of articles on the effects of aging and what you can do to manage them. Some of the answers I know. Others I have my own opinions on. I don’t want you to rely totally on my own knowledge, experience and opinion, so I will go to outside sources for assistance. Where there is conflicting information, I will salt and pepper the articles with as many sides as make sense. Will there be confusion? Probably! Just look at the differing opinions about what we should be eating, as well as the different varieties of exercise that are promoted. I will attempt to make as much sense out of them as I can. For some things, we will all just have to remain confused.
I’m looking forward to bringing these upcoming articles to you. I think you will find them useful for your own health and well being. Stay tuned.
Thank you for reading.